Silicon Valley figures head to tech investor showcase

GARETH MACKIE

Two Silicon Valley luminaries have been confirmed as speakers for the latest instalment in Scotland’s largest investor showcase for start-ups.

Duncan Logan, the Scots-born entrepreneur who founded San Francisco tech accelerator RocketSpace, will deliver the keynote address at the annual Engage, Invest, Exploit (EIE) conference, due to be held at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre on 10 and 11 May.

He will be joined by venture capitalist Steve Jurvetson, a partner at California-based DFJ, which has backed technology groups including Skype, SpaceX and Twitter.

Logan said: “On the back of the incredible successes of Skyscanner and FanDuel, Scotland has shown that it is capable of building tech companies at scale and I’m hugely excited to be in Edinburgh in May to share some of my own experiences with the next generation of founders, some of whom I am sure will go on to be the success stories of the future.”

EIE, run by tech mentoring organisation Informatics Ventures, will see 60 of Scotland’s brightest start-ups pitch to an audience of global investors with the aim of securing funds ranging from £100,000 to more than £5 million.

Since the first event in 2008, the showcase has acted as a springboard to about £400m in funding and has seen the likes of FanDuel, the fantasy sports operator, and personal shopping app Mallzee progress through its programme.

Steve Ewing, director of operations at Informatics Ventures, said: “EIE 2017 will be the biggest and boldest to date and it’s fantastic to welcome Duncan Logan and Steve Jurvetson to the event this year. It’s an amazing opportunity for investors and start-ups alike to meet and hear from two of the highest-calibre players in Silicon Valley.”

Other keynotes at the conference will be delivered by Scottish Enterprise chairman Bob Keiller, the former boss of Aberdeen-based oil and gas services giant Wood Group, and Aberdeen Asset Management chief executive Martin Gilbert.